Pennants Reports – Round 2

Mark Cassel and Anthony Smith pictured together at home. Anthony opened his 2017 campaign with a good win, while Mark will have to miss the rest of the season due to work commitments. His never surrender attitude will be missed.

Cowpats 4 defeated the Links Shell Cove 2 @ Shoalhaven Heads

COWPATS LEAVE BROWN SMELL ALL OVER THE LINKS

Kiama Council refuse to merge with Shellharbour due to Massive Defeat. ……………………. SIEN METU …………………

Hand-picked players from the Links Shell Cove Golf Club, especially their WHC Pennant team who had gone into camp for three days at the expense of Shellharbour Council prior to this match, didn’t count on the Cowpat True Grit when an unexpected loss to Jamberoo left more than egg on their face.

Prior to hit off, Shane lead the Troops in the Cowpat Battle Cry, thus soothing nerves with his Baritone Voice.

Winning the toss for the second time the Cowpats batted first with Brian, setting the scene for the final assault.

Scott and Mark battled in true Cowpat style with the final results not being determined until the last holes.

Peter maintained great rhythm placing pressure on his opponent early who could not recover.

Shane was the Champion Player of the Day. I didn’t realised he smoked but whatever was in those Cigs his iron shot into the 18th sealed victory crushing his over confident opponent, giving the Cowpats a valuable point.

Steve cruised along taking time to achieve his rhythm and once out of first gear his opponent also could not respond.

When the sound of ‘Roo, Roo’, echoed around Shoalhaven Heads all our spirits lifted as we all new that Brian had taken another early victim and the Cowpat’s were one up.

This was Mark’s last game due to work commitments and we will miss his direct approach and killer spirit which was infectious with the Cowpats.

Well Done Cowpats, two down, three to go before the semis. Lets maintain the SIEN METU ATTITUDE AND MOMENTUM.

B Pennants 3 defeated Port Kembla 2 @ Shoalhaven Heads

The Jamberoo “B” side, who by the way do not currently have a nickname, played the highly fancied Port Kembla side at Shoalhaven Heads.

Team captain Tony Panecasio came up with a cunning plan that ensured all 8 of our team will be qualified for the finals by playing the 3 reserves from last week.

Your humble correspondent led out at No.5 and played the sacrificial role brilliantly. Team captain had given me instructions to go out there and soften them up and let the other 4 guys apply the coup de grace. My opponent looked a bit stunned after being 2 down after 5 but visibly brightened at the turn when he was 3 up. I fought hard but couldn’t quite bring it back but was pleased to take the match to the last hole. At that point Pete Munro informed me that I had been done on the 15th and that the course had been extended from 15 to 18 holes a few years ago. So a 4/3 loss it was. It must be noted that I was playing under extreme duress due to a communication glitch between our venerable captain and myself. Captain had left a note in the team folder informing me that I needed to contact one Pat Paris to let him know that he was sitting this week out. Unfortunately I read the note at 6.00 am on match day and nearly choked on my Weetbix. This was later compounded when I attempted to do up my “special” black Pennants shorts that hadn’t been worn for a while. The dry cleaners must have shrunk them after their last season. I thought I looked good in the grey ones!

Anthony Smith played at No.4 and by all accounts was solid throughout. Pat caddied for Anthony and told me that he putted well and was in control all day. Anthony finally applied the coup de grace on the 17th and walked off one for one for this season. This was a great result as Anthony knew that we needed a win from him to win the day.

Mr Smooth Pete Munro, played No.3 and my word did he have a day out. A birdie on the 12th put his opponent to bed and ensured Pete an 8/6 result. Pete finished 1 under off the back markers for his 12 holes, a fantastic result. Pete later told me that he thought he had it won with a tap in par on the 11th only to see his opponent sink about an 80 footer downhill for a win. When informed that the green was only 50 foot long he admitted to a slight case of exaggeration.

Next out was the newly promoted No.2 John Paul who was coming off a great win from last week. John had shown how much he appreciated the faith shown in him by captain TP by having a practice round at Shoalhaven Heads on Saturday. He was very pleased to say that he played better on Sunday but unfortunately not ‘betterer’ enough as he went down 6/5. The big fella’s opponent played solid and knew the course layout which always helps.

Adrian Bell, our perennial No.1 had a tough assignment against the Port No.1. Adrian struggled with rhythm for first 7 or 8 holes and found himself 2 down early. Like last week he just kept at it until he found some form and played very solid over the second nine. He was square after 13 and then went on a mini birdie blitz on 14 and 15 to go 2 up and finished with a par on the tough 16th to close the match.

A special thanks to Pat who supported the team throughout the day.

The still unnamed “B’s” won the day 3/2 and are currently top of the table in their division.

Your humble correspondent,

Ray

C Pennant Report Round 2 vs The Grange @ The Grange

Jamberoo 3 defeated the Grange 2

“Mullet Creek Mauling” – shark spotted in Mullet Creek!

The C Pennant “Sharks” have kept their great start to the season going by producing an invaluable away win to take the points @ The Grange in much cooler conditions than Saturday’s comp. We arrived brimming with confidence after Tim’s 44pts, Andrew’s 37pts, Ron’s 36pts and Jim’s 34pts in difficult conditions in Saturday’s comp.

Ron teed off first and trailed early to be 2 down having trouble getting the ball to the hole on the slow greens. Ron was able to fight back to take the lead on the back nine but his opponent kept coming and it was all square on the 17th. In the only match to go the 18 holes today Ron was beaten on the last hole just missing the equaling par putt.

Andrew was No.4 today and he won easily 6/5. His driving was a pleasure to watch and put a lot of pressure on his shorter-hitting opponent. At one stage his opponent chipped in for a par from quite a distance. Not fazed, Andrew rolled in his birdie putt to accentuate his dominance. Another fine putt on the 13th closed out the match as he showed great delight in sinking the winning putt!

Reversing last week’s loss Chris excelled today with a strong 7/5 win. Chris was very solid off the tee and around the greens not giving his opponent any opportunities to mount pressure. His only problem today were the local crows who took a fancy to his favourite coloured golf balls pinching 2 of them, one costing Chris a hole.

Jim debuted playing No. 2 and was in a tough match against their big-hitting captain. Being 4 down early Jim showed great nerve to fight back on the second 9 before his opponent cleared off with a 4/3 win.

To Chris’s delight, Tim took over as No.1 today and continued his great form with a great win 4/2. Tim was 4 up, dormie and he coasted to a comfortable win.

THE “A” TEAM 4 Defeated Links Shell Cove 2 @ Nowra

After our great start last week, expectations were high and the team were eager to tackle the much fancied big winners from last week, Links Shell Cove. Our opponents were all low makers (handicaps ranging from 5 to 16). We found out later they were also big hitters, so for a change we all received strokes from our opponents.

After the ceremonial presentation of the balls, our first player to the tee was Phil Gosling who was making his White Horse Cup debut. Phil had been unable to play for the last few weeks and decided to have a hit on Saturday in those sweltering conditions and put in a good showing to score 36 points. But today he had to contend with an opponent who rarely strayed from the straight and narrow and coupled with the energy sapping heat from the day before, Phil eventually succumbed 4 and 3.

I was next to the tee and immediately put my opponent at ease by hitting one of my classic shots, 50 m up and 50 m forward. The unintended tactic paid dividends by lulling my opponent into a false sense of security and I eventually got home 3 and 2.

After last week’s big win (7/5), we were hoping Gary Harvey could produce a repeat performance for the team. However, things did not go well early on with Gary’s opponent jumping to a 2 up lead. But after giving himself a severe talking to mid-round, Gary stormed back into contention with three birdies and eventually clawed back the deficit to secure a much needed victory 2 and 1. It was some more of that fighting spirit we saw last week from Bryan.

Johnny Bermudez was next to the tee against the Links’ captain. Johnny managed to open a 2 hole lead early on the back 9, but the ability of a single figure player can never be underestimated and the Links captain got those holes back and was threatening to steal the match, but Johnny stayed solid to earn a creditable squared match.

Bryan Nicoll was promoted to No 2 today with the absence of Greg Tarrant and had to contend with a “5” marker. After his narrow defeat last week, Bryan was looking to make amends and immediately jumped to a lead that he would not relinquish for the rest of the round. It was a great effort by Bryan to contend with someone of this calibre and to still emerge victorious.

Our No 1 today was again Greg Seymour and he was also playing a “5” marker and he also got 4 shots start. During my round I happened to stray into their fairway and I watched the Links man launch one into orbit off the tee, so it was obvious Greg’s task was never going to be easy. The Links player managed to build a handy lead and as they waited on the 14th tee he lead by two. However, my opponent was on the 16th tee at the same time and launched his tee shot straight through the bushes at the rear of the 14th green which may have unsettled his team mate because Greg won the next three holes to lead by one coming to the 18th. Both players were in the fairway after their drives and the Links player hit the green with his second. Unfortunately Greg’s approach shot caught a tree to the left of the green so the lie was going to be crucial. However after much searching Greg had to declare his ball lost and the match was squared. Nonetheless, it was a great fight back by Greg and although he may have been disappointed to have lost the 18th, he has a lot to be proud of today.

With two wins in the bank we are sitting in second spot behind Vincentia who have also scored two wins, but they have a better percentage than the “A” Team. Next week we have a home game at Jamberoo and our opponents for the day will be Russell Vale. Tee off is at 8.00.